


Road to Hell

by GenKay



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Character, Gen, Guilt, Manipulation, Mind Games, Revenge, Shakespearean Tragedy, Tragedy, Unhappy Ending, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenKay/pseuds/GenKay
Summary: … is paved with good intentions. And it was all going to hell in a handbasket.AU post season 2 - One hopes. A dark story covering Johnny's fight for Cobra Kai. Johnny-Robby centric.
Comments: 32
Kudos: 33





	1. Surrender

Robby stared at him, aghast. 

“You’re not serious?” Johnny was and Robby could see that in his face. “Dad! You can’t!”

“What choice do I have?” Johnny shrugged, dejected. 

“You can fight back.” Robby argued. 

“Fight back? They are my students, Robby.” Johnny countered incredulously. “I want to save them, not hurt them.”

“Not this way!” Robby insisted. “You can open a new dojo. Get a new place, new students...”

Johnny shook his head. 

“A dojo is more than just four walls with some words on them.” He explained. “Those students - they are Cobra Kai. And I’m their Sensei. I can’t leave them behind.”

Robby didn’t get it. He was not a teacher, after all. And his own Sensei had left him behind. 

“LaRusso tried to do what you are saying.” Johnny tried a different track. “He tried to open a “good” dojo to fight a “bad” one - look at how that ended up.”

LaRusso was gone now. 

Not exactly - he was still around, running his business. But he had shut down Miyagi-Do, quit the tournament committee and moved his kids to private school. He’d told Robby that he wanted nothing to do with karate or Johnny anymore - which meant having nothing to do with Robby either. As far as they were concerned, he might as well have moved away.  


“Mr. LaRusso wasn’t trying to fight anyone.” Robby defended hotly. “He just wanted to show kids a better way.”

“That’s what I want too.” Johnny replied. 

“And how is surrendering to Kreese gonna do that?”

It wasn’t surrender. It was just a different kind of war. Johnny had thought long and hard about it and it was the only way forward. 

LaRusso’s method was never going to work. As long as the Cobras saw him as the enemy, they’d have never seen his ways as better. But Johnny knew how to do it right.  


“Look, Robby, I screwed up.” Johnny admitted. “I taught those kids all the wrong things and I let Kreese into their lives. It’s on me to fix that. I don’t want them making the same mistakes I did.”

“I get that. But...” Robby threw up his hands, exasperated.

“I need to be around them to get them to trust me again.” Johnny explained. “That’s the only way I’ll get through to them. And if that means working for Kreese...”

The thought still turned his stomach. Work for the guy who’d stolen his dojo? His life? That was going to be humiliating. But he had to do it, to make things right. For himself and for Robby. 

“We’ll make it work. I promise.” Johnny said, more confidently than he felt.

“We?” Robby raised an eyebrow.

“Robby, I can’t do this without you.” Johnny admitted. 

Johnny had thought long and hard about this too. Being their Sensei wasn’t going to be enough. They needed a peer too - someone strong and skilled who led by example. Someone they could admire and follow. Before it’d been Miguel - but Miguel wasn’t coming back either. Not anytime soon. Carmen had made that very clear. 

“Dad - they all hate me.” Robby said. 

“With good reason.” Johnny added quietly. 

He winced at the guilty look on Robby’s face. 

It wasn’t fair. The kid didn’t deserve that on his conscience. And Johnny was being a shitty father by rubbing his face in it. 

But Robby needed this too. He never talked to Johnny about it, but Johnny knew anyway - about the nightmares, the crushing guilt, the depression. And all his desperate attempts to do things right from now on. Robby needed to fix something to make himself feel better and if he could help Johnny save his students…

“Look, none of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t almost killed Miguel.” Johnny said, forcing those words out of himself. “This could be your chance to make things right.”

Robby swallowed and nodded. And Johnny felt better about his plan immediately. 

It was time to do to Kreese what Kreese had done to him. To put aside his pride and agree to work with him. To teach his students again. To get them to trust him again. And when the time was right, to steal Cobra Kai right from under the old bastard. 

After all, you had to get behind someone before you could stab them in the back. 


	2. Negotiations

“You want to come back?” Kreese narrowed his eyes at him, but the half-smile playing on his lips gave him away. 

“I need a job.” Johnny replied, evenly. 

He knew what Kreese wanted. What he’d always wanted - to be told that he was right. That his way was the correct way. That Johnny had made a horrible mistake when he’d betrayed his Sensei and stolen Cobra Kai from him. And that he’d be nothing but blindly obedient to his master from now on. 

But Kreese was no fool either. If he got what he wanted right away, he’d never buy it. It had to come out slowly. Grudgingly. Like Kreese had forced every word out of him. 

“What about your rich step-daddy?” Kreese smirked. 

Johnny flushed at the mention. “I’m never going to him for anything. Ever again.”

“Pride.” Kreese smiled and nodded approvingly. “Atleast you remember something that I taught you.”

“So...”

“But - and I’m just spitballing here.” Kresse gave him an exaggerated shrug. “What if all this is just a scheme to steal Cobra Kai back from me?”

No fool after all. But not unexpected either. 

“If I could do that then I wouldn’t have let you take it from me in the first place.” Johnny replied. 

_ That’s right. Stroke his ego. Tell him how much smarter he is. He’ll buy that because he wants to.  _

“Well, thanks for your interest in the position.” Kreese told him, smiling smugly. “I’ll get back to you when we have an opening.” 

Johnny took a deep breath and clenched his fist to keep his temper in check. Kreese wasn’t going to make this easy - he wouldn’t be satisfied until Johnny was groveling in front of him. But then, he’d expected that already. 

“Look, I don’t want us to be at war, okay?” He said, trying to be conciliatory. “LaRusso was the enemy. Him and Miyagi-Do. And he’s gone now. Cobra Kai won. Can’t we leave it at that?”

Kreese’s smile disappeared. 

“Won?” He sneered. “Is that what you call it? Every single one of your students lost the fight. Because you made them soft. Weak. I wouldn’t call that winning.”

_ Crap! Did I screw up already? _

“You still have so much to learn, Johnny.” Kreese said, shaking his head in disappointment. “And you are still a shitty liar. So how about you be honest for once? Because I know you are not really here for a job.”

_ Here’s my chance.  _

“I’m here for Cobra Kai.” Johnny said, deliberately not looking at him. “I don’t know who I am without it.”

Kreese was looking at him skeptically, so Johnny went on. 

“I spent years just wasting my life away.” He explained. “And when I found Cobra Kai again, it was like I found myself. I can’t lose that. I can’t… go back to who I used to be.”

That should do it. After the years Kreese had spent on the streets, this should be something he’d believe. 

“You betrayed Cobra Kai.” Kreese said, calmly. “You betrayed everything it stands for.”

Johnny nodded. “I know I screwed up. Everything that happened was my fault. And I’ll do anything to make that right.”

Every word of that was true - technically. But not in the way Kreese believed it to be. And it seemed like he finally believed Johnny. 

“If you were still my student, I’d have made you do a hundred pushups.” Kreese smirked. “But I think we are both too old for that.”

“So...” Johnny tried again. 

“Alright.” Kreese smiled and nodded. “You can be the assistant Sensei. It’ll be good, working together again. As long as everyone remembers his place. Right?”

Johnny nodded slowly. 

“Be here tomorrow at 8 AM, sharp.” Kreese ordered, dismissing him. 

Johnny was almost out the door before Kreese spoke up again. 

“By the way - that boy of yours - Robby, right?” Johnny nodded. “Is he going to join us?”

The tone was casual, but Johnny sensed the greed behind it anyway. And that was unexpected. He’d expected that he’d have to fight to convince Kreese to take Robby on.

“You want him to?” Johnny asked, skeptical. 

“Ofcourse.” Kreese replied. “LaRusso taught him a lot of shit about mercy and weakness, but in the end, he proved that he had Cobra blood running in his veins. This is where he belongs.”

“But the rest of the kids? They...”

“Let me handle them.” Kreese reassured him, hooking his thumbs under his sleeves.

“Okay. I’ll ask him.” Johnny said, nodding slowly 

_ Well that went smoother than expected.  _


	3. Introduction

“You got some nerve, showing your face around here.” Hawk was seething with rage. 

“Sensei Kreese invited me.” Robby’s voice was calm.

“And you were stupid enough to accept?” Hawk laughed. “Pretty sure he wouldn’t mind if I get started ahead of him.”

“Dunno about that.” Robby shrugged. “Kreese doesn’t sound like the kind of guy who likes others getting ahead of him.”

Johnny peaked through the blinds of the office window nervously, watching the exchange. This didn’t look good. Robby was a good fighter, but he couldn’t possibly take on the entire Cobra Kai class alone.

“We should get out there.” Johnny suggested. “Don’t want the first day to start with a fight.”

“Timing, Johnny.” Kreese said, getting up and taking his position behind the door. “Timing is everything.”

“What the hell are you doing here, Keene?” It was Tory this time.

“Joining Cobra Kai.” Robby replied.

“Like hell!” Hawk sneered. “Sensei Kreese would _**never** _let that happen.”

“QUIET!” Kreese yelled, stepping through the door. Immediately, a hush fell over the room. 

“Everyone! Get in line!”

They all hastened to obey the order like trained, house-broken dogs, falling into neatly arranged rows at precise distances from each-other. Robby stood where he was, looking at Johnny for instruction.

“Keene! Didn’t you hear me?” Kreese shouted. “Fall in line!”

Everyone stared at Kreese in surprise, but Robby was still looking at Johnny for guidance. Johnny gave him a slight nod and Robby joined the others, finding an empty spot in the first row. 

Kreese did know how to command the room - Johnny had to give him that. All that time leading the class, he’d always tried to emulate the guy and he’d always felt like a fraud - but Kreese was a natural. Slowly and deliberately, he walked in front of them before turning to face them with his hands on his lapels.

“Class, we have some  _ new  _ people joining us today.” He said, quiet and commanding. “I know you  _ think  _ you know them already, but I’m telling you that you don’t. You’ve never met them before.”

“This is Johnny Lawrence.” He said, gesturing at him with a sweep of his hand. “Johnny Lawrence used to be a student of mine. I taught him everything he knows. And now, he’s here to help me teach the rest of you losers.”

“And this is his son - Robby.” He continued. “Robby might be new here, but I hear that he’s already pretty good at karate. So think twice before you underestimate him.”

“This is bullshit.” Hawk said under his breath, but everybody heard him anyway.

Deliberately, Kreese stepped in front of him, maintaining eye-contact the whole time. 

“Did I say you could speak, Moskowitz?” He growled right in his face.

_ Yikes.  _ With all the effort Hawk put into his persona, calling him by his real name was a sure-fire way of putting him in his place.

“No, Sensei.” Hawk gave the conditioned reply. “I’m sorry Sensei.”

“Well… if you have something to say…?”

_ Don’t. It’s a trap. Can’t you see that yet, dumbass? _

“I think giving traitors a second chance is bullshit.” Hawk said, blithely.

“Traitor? Is that any way to talk about your Sensei?” Kreese said sternly. “You are all here today because of _this_ man. You were all pathetic losers before him and he turned you into something worthwhile. And _this_ is how you repay him?”

Hawk looked confused. 

“But Sensei, you said - ”

“QUIET!” Kreese shook his head in disappointment. “You disgust me - all of you. I told you before. We are all Cobra Kai and we never leave one of our own behind. Sure some of us lose their way sometimes - but when they come back, we accept them back. Because that is what being a Cobra means.”

Hawk shrank back, ashamed. He looked smaller now. 

“Anything else,  _ Moskowitz _ ?”

_ Take the hint, dude.  _

Hawk didn’t. 

“Yeah. Why is  _ he _ here?” He asked, jerking his head towards Robby. “He was never part of Cobra-Kai. We don’t owe him anything. He’s the enemy.”

“Robby here is a winner.” Kreese explained. “And we want winners on our team.”

“He’s not a winner.” Hawk argued, hotly. “Miguel won that fight. He just took advantage of his mercy.”

“As he should’ve.” Kreese sneered. “Isn’t that what I taught you? Are you telling me that if you opponent is stupid enough to let his guard down in a fight, you _wouldn’t_ take advantage of it?”

“I...” Hawk looked caught. “But… what about Miguel?”

“Diaz will always have a place in Cobra Kai.” Kreese replied, shrugging. “Once he can walk without crutches.”

They were not happy about this - Johnny could see that clearly. They may have accepted him with some grumbling, but they definitely resented having Robby there. And Johnny could hardly blame them. But Kreese had them beaten enough that they couldn’t argue any more.

“Anything else?” Kreese asked again. 

“No Sensei.” Hawk replied, looking down.

“Good - now drop and give me a hundred pushups on your knuckles.”

_ There he is,  _ Johnny thought as Hawk looked at him in horror.  _ The Kreese we all know and love. _

“Sensei...”

“I thought you had learned your lesson about questioning me.” Kreese explained. “Apparently not. I guess we’ll have to start over. Get to it,  _ Eli _ .”

Everyone watched in sympathy as Hawk went to the side and started his punishment. 

“Sensei Lawrence.” Kreese turned to Johnny. “How about you lead the class today?”

Johnny nodded tersely, stepping forward. He didn’t like seeing his students treated this way. But on the other hand, it was like Kreese was doing his work for him. He told them to respect Johnny and forced them to accept something they didn’t want to. Johnny could use that against him - just like Kreese had - and in no time at all, he’d have them all back. 

Until then…

“Class! First Position.”


	4. Restraint

Had Robby always been this quiet? He hadn’t, had he? 

As a child, he’d always been so full of life and energy. Always bouncing off the walls and talking a mile a minute. And now…

Was he like this before the incident too? Johnny wished he knew. 

There used to be this fire in him and Johnny had felt the burn of it more than once. Every time he’d made some ill-fated attempt to connect and Robby had lashed out at him with his barbed tongue. But that Robby was gone now and this one didn’t say much. And when he did speak, his words were careful and considered. 

Robby was not okay and Johnny knew he should be trying to get to the bottom of it. To figure out a way to bring life back into those eyes. But for now, it was better this way. They were walking a very fine line here and it was better that Robby was cautious in his words and actions. 

“Your boy doesn’t really get the lesson about “strike hard”, does he?.” Kreese said to him after class one day. 

_ That’s because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, you asshole.  _ But Kreese would never understand that. 

“Yeah - that’s LaRusso for you.” Johnny said instead. “He taught him all the pussy shit and bad habits aren’t easy to break.”

“No - that’s not it.” Kreese replied, musing. “It’s like he’s holding back on purpose.”

Johnny cast him a furtive glance, trying to think of something. 

“Maybe he is smarter than both of us.” Johnny shrugged. “Maybe he is saving his real strength for a real fight.”

Kreese considered it and nodded. 

“Well then,” He said, smiling. “Let’s not disappoint him.”

Johnny had a bad feeling about that. 

Mitch limped back, clutching his leg where Robby had kicked him. And Kreese shook his head in disapproval. 

“Well, it seems like no one here is a match for Keene one on one.” He said. “How about we up the game? Hawk. Stingray. Face him.”

Johnny’s stomach clenched. Two against one wasn’t fair. But he somehow kept himself from speaking up.  _ Stick to the plan,  _ he told himself.  _ If you show any favoritism towards Robby, you’ll end up losing their trust all over again.  _

And Robby could handle himself anyway. The kid was a smart fighter. He ducked as Stingray tried to grab him from the back and maneuvered behind him. And then he kept the fat, middle-aged between himself and Hawk. Chubbs was too slow to keep up with Robby’s speed and Hawk couldn’t get to him through the wall of meat between them. 

Robby used them against each-other -before taking Stingray down with a few well placed shots to his middle. Once he was on the floor, wheezing, it was one-on-one with Hawk again and within a minute, he was on the floor too, clutching his side and glaring up at Robby. 

“Pathetic.” Kreese shook his head. “Finish him.”

_ No… _

Robby was already moving, grabbing Hawk by his mohawk and slamming his face against the mat. Hawk cursed and clutched at his face, blood trickling down between his fingers as he tried to will his eyes not to water. 

“Robby, you can’t do shit like that anymore.” Johnny told him later. “You can’t lose your temper.”

“I didn’t.” Robby insisted. “Kreese told me to show no mercy. What was I supposed to do? Tell him to fuck off?”

“You could’ve gone easy on him.”

“I did go easy on him.” Robby replied. “I could’ve kicked him in the head and given him a concussion. Or punched him hard enough to break a rib. Instead, I just gave him a bloody nose.”

Johnny frowned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to work. 

“I thought this was the plan.” Robby complained. “You want me to gain their trust right? I can’t do that unless I convince them I’m one of them. And that means obeying Kreese when he tells me to do this kind of shit.”

“I know.” Johnny nodded. “I just… want to be sure that that’s the only reason. That you are controlling yourself.”

“I am.” Robby assured him. 

He was. Johnny could see that now. 

Like yesterday when Hawk taunted him about Shannon.

“Hey Keene - saw your mom on facebook. She’s pretty hot.” Hawk mocked. “And she looks like kind of a slut. Think she’ll go down on me?”

Robby clenched his fists and grit his teeth, but didn’t say anything. And Johnny had never felt prouder. His son knew how to be a bigger man even if he never did. 

But it started happening more and more often - starting with name-calling and taunting. And then escalating to pranks. And Robby just took it all quietly until Johnny couldn’t any more. 

“You need to tell them to lay off him.” He told Kreese after Robby had come home one day covered in paint. 

“Boy can’t handle his own business?” Kreese smirked. 

“He can. You know he can.” Johnny replied, ignoring the irony. “But he’s trying so hard to prove that he isn’t the enemy. That he’s on our side.”

“I know.” Kreese smiled knowingly. 

“Then....?”

“He hasn’t proven it yet.”

Johnny stared at him dumbfounded. What the hell was Kreese talking about?

“He sided with the enemy, Johnny.” Kreese explained. “He betrayed his father, his family… did you really think there weren’t going to be consequences? That he could just walk in and we’d trust him? Just like that?”

_ You did this,  _ Johnny realized with horror.  _ You put them up to it. You gave them the green-light to go ahead and torture my son.  _

“Don’t worry about it.” Kreese shrugged. “Either he’ll prove his commitment to Cobra Kai or he’ll quit. And we don’t want quitters here.”

Johnny turned to go but Kreese stopped him again. 

“This is a test for you too, Johnny.” He told him. “You lost Cobra Kai before because you wanted special treatment for your son. You let him make you weak. You need to learn how to treat all your students equally. If you can’t do that, then you are not worthy of being their sensei.”

_ But he’s not just my student, he’s my son.  _

It was no use. They were trapped. And the only way out now was through. 


	5. Synergy

_ Something’s wrong.  _ Johnny could feel the tension in the air as soon as he came out of the back room. There was an unnatural hush in the room. And while students were still milling around, pretending to do their own thing, their attention was clearly directed at one place. 

Kreese was standing with his arms folded across his chest - a pose Johnny had come to know intimately and dread. Hawk was grinning like a maniac and that couldn’t be good news. And Robby looked nervous. 

“What’s going on?” Johnny said, stepping up. 

“Your son here thinks Cobra Kai isn’t good enough for him.” Kreese said, never looking away from Robby’s face.

“That’s NOT what I said.” Robby replied immediately, looking at Johnny. “It’s NOT.”

They all waited for Robby to continue. 

“All I said was maybe we could learn a thing or two from Miyagi-Do.” Robby explained, taking a deep breath. 

_ Dammit, Robby.  _

It wasn’t the kid’s fault though. This was what Johnny had told him to do - gain their trust and guide them right. He’d just slipped up a little in the execution. And maybe this could be salvaged. 

“Well?” Kreese said, turning to him.

“He’s not wrong.” Johnny said thoughtfully, trying to figure out a way to spin it. “Even you have to admit that Miyagi-Do produces some good fighters. What’s so wrong with learning a trick or two from them? It’ll only make us stronger.”

“Is that what you meant?” Kreese asked Robby. 

And Robby nodded eagerly, seizing at the excuse. 

“Alright then, Sensei Keene.” Kreese smirked as if he saw right through it. “Educate us.”

_ Not good,  _ Johnny thought despairing. Robby would never teach the Cobras the secret Miyagi-Do moves - he had too much respect for LaRusso to do that. He’d see that as a betrayal. The philosophy was all he'd be willing to share. But that wasn’t what Kreese was looking for. There was no way out. 

But it turned out that Robby was smarter than Johnny had given him credit for. 

“There was this game we used to play as a training exercise.” He started hesitatingly and Johnny nodded in approval. That was smart - not mentioning LaRusso’s name. “Bunch of students would be given random numbers and one of us would stand in the center. Sensei would call out a number and that number would attack the guy in the middle. If the guy in the middle could defend himself successfully, then he got to stay there. But if the other guy managed to land a hit, then they’d exchange places.”

“What the shit?” Hawk scoffed. “This is a real dojo, Keene. We don’t play kids’ games here.”

Hawk really needed to learn how to listen, Johnny thought, irritated. 

The exercise was a good one. A really good one. It taught students to be aware of their surroundings, to improve their reflexes, to use the element of surprise - and it was better than having just two students duking it out at a time while others just sat on their asses. 

And evidently, Kreese thought so too. He looked at Robby thoughtfully before nodding his head. 

“Alright.” He said, smiling. “How about a demonstration?”

“I know he wasn’t talking about training.” Kreese whispered to him as the other student drew lots to get their numbers. “But something good came out of it, so I’m gonna let it go.”

_ No use denying it now. _

“He’s a kid, okay.” Johnny said. “He made a mistake.”

Kreese nodded knowingly. 

“He is. But you are not.” He said. “I already told you you can’t give him any special treatment. Be careful, Johnny. You don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

* * *

Ten students stood in a huge circle, numbered zero to nine, with Tim in the middle. He’d had the misfortune of drawing the blank, which meant he went first. As for others, nobody knew what number a particular individual had except for themselves - not even Kreese. That way, things would be truly random - and fair. 

“As you all know by now, this is an exercise they used to do at Miyagi-Do.” Kreese said as he circled them. “But we are not Miyagi-Do - so we are doing things a little differently. Nobody leaves the center until I say so - understood?”

“Yes, Sensei!” They all replied in unison as Johnny watched with a pit in his stomach. 

“Good! Let’s begin.” Kreese said. “Three!”

Kevin rushed forward a little too fast. Tim used that to his advantage, neatly sidestepping him and elbowing him in the back.

“Enough!” Kreese shouted and Kevin stepped back. “Eight!”

Edwin was behind him and Tim never saw him coming. He got his legs kicked out from under him before he could react.

_ So you need to have eyes in the back of your head to play this game,  _ Johnny thought.  _ Incredible. No wonder LaRusso managed to train such badasses in such a short time.  _

“Good.” Kreese nodded as Eddy stepped up to the plate. “Seven!”

And on and on it went. 

Johnny found himself relaxing a bit more with each-round. He’d been sure that Kreese was up to something - with that “new” rule of his - but it didn’t look like it. And the system was fair enough that it made targeting someone pretty difficult. Atleast, not without being obvious about it. 

_ This is good,  _ Johnny thought. Skills alone weren’t enough for Robby to get the respect of his fellow students. In fact, his superiority was something that was making them hate him even more. But through this exercise, he was actually teaching them something. Helping them improve. That was sure to earn him some respect, wasn’t it?

“Four!” Kreese yelled and Mitch bull-rushed Hawk, only to be met by an elbow to the face. 

Hawk held out for one more before being kicked in the back by Tory. And Tory got her legs swept from under her by Robby, finally leaving him in the center of the ring. 

_ I should’ve started training him years ago,  _ Johnny thought regretfully as he watched his son.  _ All that wasted time.  _

Unlike others, Robby didn’t stand still. He was moving around in a small circle in a defensive posture, scoping out his potential opponents. By now, most of the numbers had been called already - and those that hadn’t been, you could figure out through elimination. He’d clearly been keeping a mental note of who was who and he knew that Kreese wouldn’t pit any of the weaker players against him. Nor would he go for the obvious right away by siccing Hawk or Tory on him. So his focus was on the other potential candidates. 

“Seven!” Kreese called out predictably. 

Edwin was cautious - slow - giving Robby more than enough time to turn on him and attack him instead. Moments later, Eddy was limping back to his place. 

“Six!”

_ He’s good. Too good. He’s not gonna lose. He has defended himself against four guys already. _

Hawk had had the best chance. Robby’s back had been turned to him and he’d rushed forward quickly - going for a kick to finish this before it started. But Robby had side-stepped it so smoothly that Johnny wondered for a moment if he did, in fact, have eyes in the back of his head. A swinging elbow to his side and Hawk was back in his place as well. 

Kreese stood there, nodding approvingly, but the sly smile on his lips made Johnny nervous. 

“Fifty-One!” Kreese called out.

_ What?  _ Johnny stared at him.  _ But there are only ten students.  _

The trick became clear a moment later when both Mike and Tony moved in simultaneously. It took Robby only a moment to adapt. He slid sideways, not letting them gang up on him and managed to fend them off. 

_ You son of a bitch, you planned this.  _ Johnny glared at Kreese. He’d told the other students already. There had been no hesitation as they’d moved in as one. 

And Kreese’s eyes were firmly fixed forward. 

“Sixty-Three!”

Tory managed to land a glancing blow off Robby’s shoulder - and that should’ve been enough. They all paused to look at Kreese for instruction - for him to nod and tell Robby to get back to the ring and Tory to take her place at the center. But Kreese gave them a slight shake of head and it was on again. 

Robby was breathing heavily now. But he stood his ground as he sent two more contenders back to their place. 

“Four-Twelve!”

_ Oh, c’mon!  _

Johnny almost intervened then - but then Kreese’s words came back to him. This was a test for him too, he realized. Kreese wanted to see if he could restrain himself. Keep himself from showing Robby any favoritism. 

Robby couldn’t defend himself completely this time. He ended up absorbing quite a few blows. But he still managed to stay on his feet and put others on the ground. 

Even Kreese was looking a little impressed by that.

_ C’mon. Let it end. He’s shown you how badass he is. What more do you want? _

“Fifty-Three Seventy-Nine!” 

_ Too far.  _

The trick to facing that many opponents simultaneously was to run around and force them to come at you one by one. But there wasn’t enough space for that - nor any props Robby could’ve used to his advantage. And his opponents weren’t exactly amateurs. 

No one could’ve done this, Johnny realized. Not him, not Kreese, not LaRusso. Maybe not even that old guy who’d taught LaRusso to kick their asses. 

Robby put up a good fight anyway - defending himself against a flurry of punches and kicks to the best of his ability. 

It was always going to end this way, Johnny realized. This was what Kreese wanted - Robby on his knees with an arm wrapped around his stomach, wheezing, trying to catch his breath. He was already beaten, with a bloody nose and a blackening eye and who knew how many other bruises all over his body. 

Tony had his one arm stretched and twisted behind him, with a hand around his neck, keeping him in place. Hawk and Tory stood over him, waiting for him to make a move. And Mitch stood back a little, ready to support them if needed.

“Finish him!” Kreese said casually. 

Before Johnny could act, Hawk’s foot swung in an arc, his heel nailing Robby right across the jaw. His head whipped to the side and a spray of blood flew out of him as he slumped to the floor. 

* * *

“You don’t have to do this.” Johnny said. “You can quit Cobra Kai.”

Robby stared at him with his one good eye, holding an ice-pack to his jaw. Was he mad at him? Robby’s face was too swollen to say. 

_ He should be mad at me, right? I’m his father and I just stood there as my students beat on him.  _

Nothing was broken, thankfully. Robby had just lost a tooth. 

“If I quit now, your plan won’t work.” Robby said, with some difficulty. “And it’s finally starting to work.”

That was true enough. Sure Hawk had enjoyed their little exercise - he couldn’t stop smiling afterwards. And even Tory had worn a smug grin on her face. But others were clearly disturbed by this display of violence. 

And Tim and Kevin had quit outright. 

“That wasn’t what I wanted.” Tim had told him afterwards, clearly shaken. “I just wanted to learn some karate. And sure I was pissed at him about Miguel - but that was....”

He was scared to quit - that was clear. But Johnny reassured him and told Kreese that they didn’t need pussies with weak stomachs in their dojo. 

And that was good enough for now. Sure they’d all come back once Johnny was back in charge, but until then, they were all better off as far away from Kreese as possible. 

And that included Robby. 

“Letting them beat the shit out of you isn’t helping anybody.” Johnny argued.

“Isn’t it?” 

Johnny looked at him in askance. 

“These guys… the way Kreese is teaching them… they need an enemy to go after.” Robby explained. “And if it’s not me, it’s gonna be someone else.”

“And that’s worth you getting beaten up?” Johnny asked. 

“I can take it.” Robby shrugged. 

_ But you shouldn’t have to,  _ Johnny wanted to say. He didn’t know why he didn’t.


	6. Retribution

“Hawk told me. But I didn’t want to believe it.” 

It was the day after they joined Cobra Kai and Miguel confronted them in the driveway, glaring angrily at Robby’s Cobra Kai gi. He was walking again, Johnny noted with relief, albeit still leaning heavily on the crutches. 

“Miguel! You look better.” Johnny said, nervously looking around for the mama bear on her way to maul him. But Carmen was nowhere to be seen. “Are you supposed to be walking around?”

Miguel didn’t answer. Didn’t even look at him. His eyes were glued to Robby, whose, in turn, were glued to his own feet. 

“You think you’ll ever be a Cobra?” Miguel snarled. “You can wear that gi all you want, but you’ll never be one of us.”

Robby didn’t answer and Johnny sighed. This wasn’t good. Sure Miguel had every right to be pissed off, but no good was going to come of yelling at Robby. 

“Why don’t you go inside and give me some time with Miguel?” Johnny asked, patting him on the shoulder. 

Robby nodded and with a furtive, guilty look at Miguel, walked away without another word. 

Miguel’s face crumpled as soon as Robby left. The angry facade was gone, replaced by a look of hurt and heartbreak. He didn’t meet Johnny’s eyes as he led the boy to the concrete structure in the corner to sit down. 

“Sensei, how could you?” Miguel’s voice broke as he sat down. “How could you forgive him after what he did to me?”

“He’s my son.” Johnny said flatly. 

“So he just gets away with everything?” 

“He didn’t get away with anything, Miguel.” Johnny reminded him gently. “He paid his dues. He was punished for what he did.”

“Three months in juvie? You call that punishment enough for what he did?” Miguel looked at him incredulously. “I was stuck in the bed for longer and that was way worse than any prison.”

Johnny understood where Miguel was coming from. He’d always held the opinion that any criminal should suffer atleast as much as his victim. But when it came to Robby…

It wasn’t the same though. Robby hadn’t intended to hurt Miguel like that. And it had been a fight after all. All these things mattered - and the judge had thought so too. That’s why he’d let Robby off so lightly. 

“Look, if punishing him worse could somehow make you better...” Johnny sighed. “But it won’t. That would be about revenge. And I want to end this cycle of hatred. Don’t you?”

“No, I don’t.” Miguel said indignantly. “I hate him. I want to hate him. And I’ll keep hating him for what he did.”

Johnny didn’t bother arguing the point. Miguel was in hell right now and he had every right to be hurt and angry. Johnny knew that it’d get better once he got better, but for now, it was fine to let him have the reaction he was entitled to. 

“And if you cared about me at all, you’d hate him too.” Miguel added. 

Johnny shook his head sadly. 

“I know you are angry right now, but you’ll find a way to forgive him eventually.”

“I won’t.” Miguel insisted. “He took everything from me. Everything I cared about - Sam, karate, Cobra Kai...” He shot Johnny an accusing look. “You.”

“Robby didn’t take me from you, Miguel.” Johnny told him. “I stayed away because your mom doesn’t want me anywhere near you.”

“Bullshit.” Miguel said miserably. “I needed you, Sensei. I still need you. And you wouldn’t have let my mom keep you away if it hadn’t been for Robby.”

Johnny had no answer for that. He’d made the same mistake before, he realized. He’d let Shannon keep him away from Robby, ignoring how much Robby had needed him and now he was doing the same thing with Miguel.

“I’ll fix this, alright?” Johnny reassured him. “I’ll talk to your mom.”

Miguel looked up at him sullenly - and a little hopefully. 

“I still can’t believe you’d let him join Cobra Kai.” He said. “That’s supposed to be my thing and you’re just letting him take that too.”

No, it wasn’t like that. Robby didn’t want to be there any more than Miguel wanted him there. But that wasn’t Miguel’s burden to bear - he needed to focus on himself for now.

“Hey, you’ll always have Cobra Kai, alright?” Johnny assured him instead. “Robby being there is not going to change that.”

* * *

Those words were proven the day Miguel came back to the dojo and everyone celebrated his return. 

Carmen proved a mother after all - she could never deny Miguel what he really wanted. Not for long. He wore her down about Cobra Kai just as he had worn her down about Johnny. Sure, she had a pretty lengthy discussion with Kreese about the do’s and don’ts but in the end, she’d relented and everyone was looking forward to the return of Cobra Kai’s star pupil.

Everyone but Johnny. He was dreading the day. 

He’d been hoping to have matters settled with Kreese before the day came, but Kreese had already gotten into most of his students’ heads and Johnny was having a hard time finding any traction there. Not to mention, Johnny knew Miguel wasn’t back to a hundred percent and he knew that his body wouldn’t be able to take the harsh regimen Kreese had set for them.

“You’ve to go easy on him.” Johnny told him the day before. “You can’t make him do the same stuff as others.”

“His mother said the same thing.” Kreese rolled his eyes. “That I had to treat him with kid gloves.”

“This is serious, alright?” Johnny insisted. “Miguel wants to prove himself. He’ll do what we tell him to - even if he hurts himself doing it. And this isn’t some made-up bullshit that you can fix by trying to be tough. There are literally pins in his neck. You’ll end up with a lawsuit on your hands if you don’t handle this right.”

Kreese hooked his thumbs in his sleeves again, thinking over what Johnny had said. 

“Those kids out there love Miguel.” Johnny added. “So much that they turned against me when I got him hurt. You think they won’t do the same to you?”

This could’ve been his chance, Johnny realized. He could’ve let Kreese self-destruct by treating Miguel like crap and used that to win the others over. But the risk - and the potential cost - was too great. 

“This could be a solution to our Robby problem as well.” Kreese said, musing.

Johnny looked at him uncomprehending. 

“I’d figured that once the other kids got some of their anger out, they’d get over it and accept Robby as one of their own.” Kreese shrugged. “But that’s not happening. Maybe because things aren’t really settled between him and Miguel. They still see Miguel as their leader - their alpha - and they feel like Robby is trying to take his place. No dojo can survive having two alphas. They need to settle things between them once and for all - figure out the pecking order.”

It made sense. Johnny had thought the same thing - that once Miguel was better, the two boys could settle things with a final,  _ supervised  _ match with the condition that no matter who won, they’d shake hands and let things go afterwards. 

But Miguel wasn’t ready yet. Robby would easily destroy him if they fought. 

“Robby doesn’t need to fight.” Kreese told him with a smirk. “He just needs to stand there and take it.”

* * *

Miguel received a grand welcome the day he came back. Every student in class surrounded him, patted him on the back, laughed with him. Every one except Robby - who stood aside, stretching and watching them. 

Johnny took the opportunity to talk to him. 

“You want me to do what?” Robby said incredulously. 

It wasn’t fair to ask that of him - Johnny knew that. But it had to be done - for everybody’s sake. 

“You guys need to settle things.” Johnny said. “And I don’t want you to hurt him.”

“I wouldn’t have to.” Robby replied confidently. “I can beat him without hurting him.”

“That would just humiliate him even more.” Johnny countered. 

“So I should let him kick my ass instead?”

_ It’s for your sake too,  _ Johnny thought.  _ If you let Miguel have his revenge, maybe you can finally let go of the guilt you’ve been holding on to.  _

“Miguel’s a good kid.” Johnny argued. “He knows where the line is. He’ll work some of his anger out and then he’ll let it go. It’ll be fine.”

Robby was clearly not happy about this. He didn’t share Johnny’s perspective on Miguel - but then, he didn’t know Miguel like Johnny did. So he nodded tersely, accepting the conditions. 

Miguel looked scared. Ofcourse he did - he didn’t know about the deal, after all. And neither did the other students. 

“Sensei, please...” Hawk spoke up, but Kreese shut him up with a look.

Miguel looked nervously at the students sitting around him in a circle. And then at Johnny, getting an encouraging nod in return. And then at Robby opposite to him.

“Let’s go, Diaz.” Robby said, sounding bored. 

Miguel took a deep breath and a look of determination came over his face. He put his arms up, getting into a fighting stance. Robby didn’t even bother getting into a fighting position. 

“You coming or what?” Robby said, spreading his arms wide. 

Miguel  _ was  _ slower. And a lot more hesitant. Robby easily sidestepped his first punch and pushed him aside. He went for a kick next and that didn’t land anywhere close to the mark either. Two more attempts and they both ended the same way. 

_ You are toying with him,  _ Johnny thought, shaking his head.  _ You are embarrassing him and that’s not how it’s supposed to go. _

Robby saw the look on his face and sighed. He didn’t dodge the next blow. Miguel’s punch landed on his face and sent him back a couple of steps. There was barely even a bruise there and Robby looked like he didn’t even feel it. 

Miguel hesitated for a moment, waiting for Robby to strike back, but Robby just stood there, doing nothing. Miguel went for a flying kick to the torso next and Johnny knew Robby could’ve easily dodged that - but he stood there and took that as well. 

Before, that kick might’ve broken a few ribs - but Miguel didn’t have the strength in him right now. Robby grunted and stumbled back, but he was still standing. 

“That all you got?” He taunted. 

With an angry sound, Miguel rushed at him, tackling him around the middle. Robby went with it, falling to the floor with Miguel on top of him. He put up his hands to guard his face as Miguel rained down blow after blow, landing all over the place. 

“Yeah! Miguel!” Hawk hooted. “Get him!”

_ Are you really that blind, you moron? Can’t you see Robby is letting him win? _

Miguel’s stamina was gone too. He was panting after a while and had to take a break to catch his breath. Robby took the chance to twist out from under him and rolled away. He managed to get to his feet faster than Miguel and he could’ve used that chance to attack if he wanted to. 

Robby was already bleeding. There was a cut on his lip and another one on this forehead. And a new bruise was forming on his cheek. He was shifting his torso awkwardly and Johnny knew from that that atleast some of Miguel’s blows had hurt. 

But he still didn’t put up his arms as he waited for Miguel to get back up to his feet. 

“Let’s just finish this.” Robby said tonelessly as Miguel took his stance. 

Screaming in rage, Miguel bull-rushed him. Students scrambled out of the way as Miguel’s tackle took both boys out of the mats and onto the concrete floor. Miguel was on top again. He grabbed Robby by his hair and slammed his head against the floor a bunch of times. And then the punches started again, falling one after the other and Robby was no longer putting up any defense.

Johnny clenched his fists to keep himself from interfering. He had to stay in control, he told himself. He couldn’t show any favoritism. 

_ What favoritism? I’d never let  _ **_any_ ** _ of my students be treated like this. _

“Miguel! That’s enough!” His voice rang out sharply. “He’s out. You won.”

His voice got through to the boy. Miguel stopped and looked down at his unconscious opponent. And then he turned to look at Johnny. 

This wasn’t the usual Miguel, Johnny realized. There was a wildness in his eyes - a kind of insanity that Johnny had only seen once before. During the tournament. 

_ I screwed up. I should’ve seen it sooner - how deep his anger went. I screwed up but atleast its over now. _

Or was it?

Miguel shifted, getting off Robby and turned the unconscious boy around on the floor. He grabbed his arm, twisting it behind him while putting his knee on the shoulder. 

“What are you doing?” Johnny asked, too horrified to move. 

“What I should’ve done the last time.” Miguel replied. 

He wrenched the arm back violently and Robby woke up screaming. 

* * *

“I’m sorry, Sensei.” Miguel was pale and shaking. “I don’t know what came over me today.”

He was sweating nervously, droplets of sweat forming on his forehead. And he kept swallowing as if he was thirsty. He couldn’t look Johnny in the eye - which was good because Johnny didn’t think he could look at him either. 

“Come in.” Johnny said quietly, stepping aside.

Miguel hesitated, so Johnny led him into the house with a hand on his shoulder. He could feel the kid trembling under there. Robby was sitting on the couch, staring ahead blankly with his arm in the cast. Miguel turned green at the sight of it and looked away, unable to bear it. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered. “Robby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean...”

Robby didn’t reply. Didn’t even change his expression. 

“It’s the pain meds.” Johnny explained. “He can’t hear anything you say right now.”

Miguel nodded shakily before practically falling into the chair. And Johnny stood over him with his arms folded. 

“What the hell was that today?” Johnny asked quietly. “That’s not what I taught you.”

Miguel nodded.

“I-I don’t know.” He stammered out. “I j-just… lost it. I thought he was making fun of me - telling me that I was too weak to hurt him even if he let me and I...” Miguel trailed off, shaking his head. 

Johnny didn’t say anything, waiting for Miguel to continue. 

“Sensei Kreese said all that stuff about standing up for myself.” Miguel went on. “About not letting anyone take anything from me. A-and when I saw Robby, all I could see was everything he’d taken from me.”

He looked up at Johnny, pleading. 

“But this wasn’t standing up for myself, was it?” He cried. “This was… this was hateful and ugly and cruel. It was horrible. I’m horrible.”

The kid was already beating himself up about it. No point in Johnny doing the same. 

“You are not.” He said, dropping a hand on the shaking shoulder. “You made a mistake.”

Miguel shook his head. “I didn’t know I had that in me. H-how could I do something like that?” He looked up at Johnny again. “How could you let me?”

It was Johnny who couldn’t meet his eyes this time. This was on him too. He’d failed both of them today. 

“It’s gonna be okay, Miguel.” He said, looking away. “It’s over now. That was the agreement, right? You two will get along from now on. And once others see that, they’ll treat Robby better too.”

“Sensei, what’s going on with you?” Miguel asked, despairing. “How can you even think about going back there?”

Johnny stared at him, confused. 

“I-I was a monster today. And that’s not who I want to be.” Miguel explained. “I don’t think I can ever step foot in the dojo - ever again. How can  _ you _ ? How can you work for Kreese after what he did? How can you stand there and let him teach us all that crap? Weren’t you supposed to change that? Make it better?”

“I’m trying to.” Johnny sighed. 

He should’ve told Miguel the truth sooner. Miguel would’ve understood - Miguel always understood him. And if he’d known, maybe things wouldn’t have come to this. 

“Look - Kreese destroyed my life, alright.” He explained. “The crap that he taught me followed me around long after he was gone. I destroyed any chance I could’ve had of having a good life because I kept following his lessons.”

Miguel nodded slowly, taking it in. 

“And if that wasn’t enough, I screwed up again by letting him into your life. Into my students’ lives.” Johnny continued. “And he’s doing the same thing all over again - teaching them the shit that’ll ruin their lives. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let my mistakes destroy my students.”

“I get that.” Miguel agreed. “But...”

“I need to win them back.” Johnny answered the unasked question. “I need to get them to trust me again - to listen to me. That’s why I have to work with Kreese for now. So that I can be there, showing them the better way when they are ready to listen.”

Miguel nodded, understanding. He got it. Johnny knew he’d get it.

“But, Robby...” Miguel threw the other boy a furtive, guilty look. 

“Robby knows what I’m trying to do. And he’s trying to help me.” Johnny said as Miguel looked at him, surprised. “I need someone there who can lead by example. Someone who can show them what honor and compassion and mercy looks like. I used to have you for that before...”

“You still have me.” Miguel said, determined. “I can - I will do that too… with Robby. We can work together, the three of us and we’ll get rid of Kreese. We can save Cobra Kai.”

Johnny smiled at him. Ofcourse Miguel was going to make that offer right away. He was a good kid, after all and his friends were the ones at risk. 

But so was he. 

“It’s too risky, Miguel.” Johnny said, shaking his head. “You should just quit Cobra Kai like you want to. You’ll be safe from Kreese.”

“I’m not quitting on you, Sensei.” Miguel said, indignantly. 

“You’ll have to once I talk to your mom about this.” Johnny’s voice was quiet. 

Miguel’s mouth opened and shut. Johnny could practically see the wheels turning in his head. 

“I won’t do anything dumb, I promise.” Miguel said. “The others - they turned against you because of me, right? So maybe if I nudge them a little, they might listen?” He gave Robby another guilty look. “And with Robby… if I act like things are okay between us now...”

“It’s too risky.” Johnny insisted. “You are barely walking again. If you get hurt and end up in the hospital...”

“I won’t - I’ll be careful.” Miguel assured him. “I know mom already talked to Kreese about going easy on me. And I already did what Kreese wanted me to - so he shouldn’t want anything from me for a while. And if he does, I have an excuse to quit anytime I want.”

“Miguel...”

“I’ll quit when you ask me to.” Miguel insisted. “If you think things are going wrong, tell me and I’ll quit. But just… give me a chance to make this right. Please?”

Johnny relented, nodding as if Miguel had won him over. But the truth was that he was proud of both of his boys. Sure they made mistakes - horrible mistakes. Like he had. But today, they’d proved that they were both better men than he could ever hope to be. 


	7. Transition

The change in Robby was subtle. It was hard for Johnny to put his finger on it. It was always hard to put his finger on anything when it came to Robby. The kid rarely spoke unless spoken to. And he never showed any emotion. Johnny barely knew what was going on in his head. 

But the change was there and there had to be a reason for it.

Was it Kreese’s speech that had gotten to him?

Kreese called him into his - their - office the day Robby had come back to Cobra Kai after getting his cast off. 

“You impressed the hell out of me, kid.” Kreese admitted. “Not by taking a beating - no - but by not quitting. Any of those pussies out there would’ve quit by now.”

Robby nodded, accepting the compliment. 

“But that’s not good enough.” Kreese added. “If you want to be a Cobra, you have to start fighting back. Start standing up for yourself. I don’t care if you feel guilty or you think you deserve it - all this shit about taking crap from others stops now. Got it?”

“Yes, Sensei.” Robby said tonelessly. 

Johnny told him the same thing in the car later - but in different words. 

“Kreese is right about standing up for yourself.” He said. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be an asshole, okay? You still have to be in control. If you lose your shit, we can lose everything we’ve worked for.”

“Dad, I know.” Robby replied. “Don’t worry. I got this.”

Johnny was hella proud of him - and not just of the fact that he’d forgiven Miguel after last time. The kid simply refused to quit. Even with his arm broken, he’d insisted on practicing every day with Johnny at home. He didn’t want to lose his edge like Miguel had, he’d said. And even one-armed, he’d proven himself formidable. 

Johnny tried to insist that he should quit this time, that he’d already been through enough, but Robby wouldn’t hear of it. 

“If I quit now I’ll just end up proving Kreese right.” He said. “He’ll tell others that I was too pussy to take the heat and that they are the real badasses for making me run. That’ll ruin everything.”

Robby was right about it after all. They’d come too far to give up now. Still, Johnny wondered if risking Robby getting hurt again would be worth it in the end. 

Kreese wasn’t going to stop testing them - testing Robby. Robby had proven himself over and over again, but that was never enough for him. Every day was a new, unexpected challenge and now Robby was rising up to meet it. He was fighting back. And Johnny wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

* * *

It happened during the circle game. Robby was in the center and this time, Kreese was thankfully sticking to one attacker at a time. It was the slightest of nods, but Johnny saw it anyway. And then he saw Tory wrap her spiked bracelet around her knuckles. 

“Five!” Kreese yelled and Tory moved in for the kill. 

Johnny was getting used to this now - to curbing the impulse to yell out and trust Robby to handle whatever Kreese threw at him. And Robby didn’t disappoint. 

He turned on a dime, unfazed as he saw the spikes heading towards his face. He caught Tory’s arm mid-air, holding the elbow with one hand while the other turned her attack on herself. 

Tory screamed, clutching at her face as Robby looked at her in horror for a moment. Blood slipped out from between her fingers, running down her arm in rivulets. Everyone stepped aside as she ran out of the circle and to look into the floor-length mirror on the dojo wall. 

“What did you do!?” Tory said, horrified, as she stared at her reflection.

There were three red gashes, running from the corner of her eye to her chin, right across her cheek. 

“You keep complaining that you hate it when random guys hit on you.” Robby shrugged. “Guess that’s not gonna be a problem anymore.”

She should wear them proudly, Kreese told her. Scars were like badges of honor for a warrior and there was no reason for Tory to be ashamed of her badge. Any one of the boys would be proud to have a scar like that. They’d think that it made them look badass. And Tory was being a girl by crying over it. 

But she was a girl. A hot girl who’d been proud of her beauty. Sure, she didn’t want it to define her, but she was proud of it all the same. And it wasn’t the same as boys. Chicks were into guys with scars because it made them look dangerous. But the reverse wasn’t true. No one was going to look at Tory the same way again. 

No wonder she didn’t come back after that. 

“Hell yes, I meant to do it.” Robby told him afterwards. “Maybe next time, they’ll think twice when Kreese tells them to cheat against me.”

“You could’ve just defended yourself without hurting her.” Johnny argued. 

“For how long, dad?” Robby countered. “Sooner or later, I’d have slipped up. Do you want what happened to Miguel to happen to me?”

Johnny had no answer for that. Robby had taken more than his fair share of pain already - he couldn’t blame the kid for having had enough. He wouldn’t have expected anything less from any of his other students. 

* * *

“Class. I have some bad news.” Kreese said solemnly. “We lost one of our own today.”

Johnny looked straight ahead, not meeting anyone’s eye. This was a failure - a complete and utter failure. And there was no coming back from this one. Atleast with others, he’d gotten the chance to make things right - but not this one. Hawk was lost to them for good. 

Miguel had given him the news last night. 

Hawk had beaten up Demetri. Cornered him in the school’s parking lot after hours and left him bleeding and unconscious on the pavement. He’d tried to deny it later, but he’d forgotten all about the security cameras that had caught the whole thing. 

Ofcourse, Demetri had gone to the cops right away. He didn’t give a shit about mercy anymore and with an obviously premeditated attack like that, there was no chance Hawk would get off that easy. Atleast Robby had had the excuse of acting in the heat of the moment. 

“Let this be a lesson to all of you.” Kreese said, his voice heavy with anger. “The world out there - it’s out to get you. Anyone who is not one of us is the enemy. And you can’t expect any mercy from the enemy.”

Kreese hooked his thumbs in his sleeves and puffed out his chest. 

“Fighting the whole world is not going to be easy.” He continued. “We have to fight smart from now in. Pick our battles. Hawk was stupid - getting himself caught like that. But we are not going to be stupid anymore, are we?”

“No, Sensei!”

Johnny saw it then - the small smirk playing on Robby’s lips and that left him with a bad feeling in his chest. 

That was Eddy’s last day at the dojo. 

“You heard what Sensei said.” He shrugged. “We can’t fight the whole world, dude. And if you can’t fight them...”

“It doesn’t have to be that way.” Miguel pleaded. “Things can be different. We can be different.”

Eddy shook his head. “When shit hits the fan, you think they’re gonna let the black guy off the hook?” He scoffed. “I’m the first one going down for it all.”

Miguel’s pleas fell on deaf ears, but Johnny didn’t care. Better that these kids quit karate altogether than stay with Kreese. He was more worried about the look he’d seen on Robby’s face. 

“Did you have anything to do with this?” He asked his son later. 

Robby gave Johnny a considered look. 

“All I said to him was that if he couldn’t even beat a pussy like Demetri, he had no chance of beating me.” He replied. 

_ What else needed to be said? _

“Robby. What the hell?” Johnny almost yelled. “You know what Hawk is like. Why would you egg him on like that?”

“So it’s my fault?” Robby fired back. “He’s the asshole with no self-control.”

_ That’s why we had to be more careful.  _

“It’s better this way, dad.” Robby assured him. “I know you have this fantasy of saving all your students, but you can’t save everyone. Some people are beyond saving.”

“No...” Johnny shook his head stubbornly. “No - I could’ve reached him. If only I had more time...”

“It doesn’t work like that, dad.” Robby said, glumly. “Hawk was scared shitless of looking weak. Everything you tried to teach him about honor and mercy - he didn’t get any of it. And he was never going to get it - not like that. Maybe juvie could be the lesson he really needs.”

_ Could he be right?  _

“And now he can be a lesson to others.” Robby added. “An example of what happens when you take Kreese’s lessons out in the real world.”

_ But that’s not the plan. The plan is to set them right before they get to the real world.  _

“ _ You _ were supposed to be the example.” Johnny told him. “You were supposed to show them how to act. That was the plan. Did you forget that?”

Robby regarded him sadly. “No, I changed it.”

Johnny blinked and stared wordlessly. 

“I was never going to be the good guy for them.” Robby explained. “They might put up with me, but they were never going to trust me. That was always going to be Miguel’s role to play.”

“Then what’s your role?” Johnny asked, numbly.

“To be the bad guy.” Robby shrugged. “To be the guy that everybody hates. That no one wants to be like.”

This was Kreese talking. He’d gotten into Robby’s head, somehow. Twisted him around and turned him against his father. 

“It’s not.” Robby insisted. “The plan hasn’t changed. You still need to win their trust and teach them right from wrong. And Miguel can be the one setting the example - showing them how to be good. And… I’ll show them what happens when you are not.”

“I’m not letting you ruin your life over this.” Johnny said angrily. 

“I’m counting on that.” Robby smiled. “Dad, it’ll be fine. Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”


	8. Arrangements

Maybe this was the point where he should’ve quit. He had done enough already, hadn’t he? If he had just quit while he was ahead…

Both Robby and Miguel were there in his house when he got the call. There was still awkwardness between them - the result of a long history of hurting each-other - but they were atleast trying to get along for Johnny’s sake. 

“Something wrong, Sensei?” Miguel asked, seeing the look on his face. 

Johnny shook his head numbly. 

“Sid’s dead.”

“Grandpa Sid?” Robby asked, frowning. “Dad’s stepdad.” He turned to Miguel with the explanation.

“Oh...” Miguel looked more upset than Johnny felt. “I’m… sorry, Sensei.”

“I’m not.” Johnny replied, trying to sort things out in his head. “I… hated the guy. And he always hated me. He barely tried to be a dad to me and he was a shitty one when he did.”

Miguel wasn’t sure how to respond and Johnny wasn’t either. He felt relieved that Sid was dead - that he’d never have to hear his insults again. And he felt guilty for feeling relieved. That made him a bad person, right? Feeling happy that someone was dead?

And then there was the other thing.

“He left me all of his money.” Johnny said quietly. 

“You said he hated you.” Miguel asked, confused. 

“He hated everybody.” Johnny explained. “Guess he had to leave it to someone. And he didn’t have anyone else.”

“Why didn’t he just...” Miguel searched his brain. “I don’t know… leave it to charity or something?”

“He hated charities too.” Johnny explained. “And political parties. And groups of people in general. Basically, if anything had people involved, he hated it.”

“He was rich, though, right? Like mansion-with-a-pool rich?” Robby asked, musing. Johnny nodded. “Does that mean we are rich now too?”

_ Did it?  _ Johnny hadn’t been sure of what to make of it, but he was now. 

“No, it doesn’t.” Johnny said firmly. “I promised myself that I’ll never take a dime from him ever again and I’m gonna stick to that. We’re not taking his money.”

“Dad, c’mon.” Robby was incredulous and pleading. “He’s dead. He’s not gonna know that you are rejecting his money on principle.”

“Dude, that’s your grandfather you are talking about.” Miguel said uncomfortably.

“Step-grandfather.” Robby corrected. “And I haven’t seen the guy since I was… three, I guess? And he was old. I’m not gonna pretend to be sad.”

Miguel didn’t get the family dynamic here. Clearly, in his mind, he was thinking about how he’d feel if it had been his grandmother who died. But there was no comparison there at all. Sid was nothing like Rosa.

“Robby’s right.” Johnny said, nodding. “He wasn’t part of our life. I hated him and Robby didn’t even know him. Him being dead doesn’t exactly make a difference.”

Miguel nodded, understanding. 

“So...” Robby prompted. 

“We are still not taking his money.” Johnny said. 

“C’mon. He’ll never know.”

“I’ll know.” Johnny told him. “Robby - this is about having self-respect.”

“Okay - how about you keep your self-respect and give me the money?” Robby suggested.

Johnny’s eyes crinkled with amusement as he shook his head. Robby was just a kid, after all - a kid who’d grown up poor and without a lot going on for him. No wonder he got excited at the prospect of an unexpected windfall. Johnny might’ve felt the same - had it been anyone other than Sid.  But alive or dead, he wasn’t going to give the old bastard the satisfaction. 

“Dad, you could do a lot of good with that money.” Robby said, more seriously now. “You can finally get out from under Kreese - open your own dojo.”

“Robby, I told you already.” Johnny shook his head. “A dojo isn’t just-”

“-more than four walls. I know.” Robby interrupted. “But hear me out. A lot of students aren’t happy with how things are going. If you get a new place and get back the ones who quit, then the rest would follow you there too. Then Kreese would be the one left with just four walls with some words on them.”

Johnny considered the possibility. Could this work? Was it time? 

He was gaining traction with some students, the ones who were still there. Miguel’s influence upon his return was working wonders. And once they all quit, Robby wouldn’t have to put up with Kreese’s bullshit anymore either. 

But that didn’t include all the students. There were still plenty who were almost fanatically loyal to Kreese - who Johnny knew wouldn’t leave with him. With them, Kreese would be able to retain a semblance of a dojo and rebuild anyway. And then he’d come after Johnny. Even if Johnny was willing to leave them behind - which he was not - this wasn’t going to work. 

“I’ll think about it - later.” Johnny could say that much. “But it’s too soon. We need more time.”

Rejecting Sid’s money turned out to be harder than he’d expected. It had to go somewhere, Sid’s lawyer told him, and there were no other relatives making a claim. So it was all Johnny’s, whether he wanted it or not. He could let it sit in the bank if he wanted, but he’d still have to pay all the estate tax. And then he could let it sit, gathering dust, until one of his descendants came along to claim it. 

Johnny considered the idea of giving it all to charity just to spite Sid. That would’ve shown the old bastard. But Robby’s words stayed with him. 

He was never actually going to use it. Once he had his students back, he wouldn’t need Sid’s money to take his dojo back from Kreese. But it was still an option and until he dealt with with Kreese once and for all, he had to keep it on the table.  


* * *

Johnny had been both dreading and waiting for this time. The moment of truth. The litmus test to see how many of his students were now finally willing to listen to him and who would still rather follow Kreese. 

Tournament time.

Ofcourse, Kreese had something up his sleeve as well. He always did. And Johnny found out what it was when he called Robby into their office. 

“This… hasn’t been a good year for Cobra Kai.” Kreese said, deliberating each word. “We’ve had some setbacks.  _ Deserters. _ ” He spat out the last one with disgust. 

Robby nodded, not saying anything, as was expected of him. 

“But that was expected.” Kreese shrugged. “There are always some weak ones that need to be weeded out. But... we ended up losing four of our best students. And that’s a blow.”

Johnny frowned.  _ Four? Hawk, Tory, Aisha and…? _

“Miguel’s still here.” Robby said, getting there before him. 

“But he is not one of our best anymore.” Kreese replied. “I don’t think he ever really was. He was always too… soft to be a Cobra.”

_ Too good, you mean,  _ Johnny thought, scowling. 

“If it wasn’t for him winning that trophy last year, I’d have never let him come back in.” Kreese went on. “But all that can change.  _ You  _ can change it.”

Robby looked uncertain, but nodded again anyway. 

“Honestly, if you hadn’t been here, I'd have been too ashamed to even show my face back there.” Kreese smiled. “You are going to put Cobra Kai on top again. You’ve proven yourself to be the best student I’ve ever trained. Even better than your dad here. Right Johnny?”

_ You have no fucking idea.  _

“Yeah.” Johnny nodded. “You impressed the hell out of us, Robby.”

Robby nodded, determined. “Don’t worry Sensei. I’ll win this for us.”

“Ofcourse you will.” Kreese scoffed. “That goes without saying. I’m talking about putting Cobra Kai back on top.”

Johnny and Robby looked at each-other, confused and Kreese smiled as he saw the exchange.  


“It’s time to get LaRusso back in the game.” Kreese explained. 

Ofcourse. The fight with Miyagi-Do had been the one Kreese had never been able to win and that still ate away at him. 

“But Miyagi-Do is already gone.” Robby told him. 

“By his choice. Not ours.” Kreese said. “Listen - you learned from him. You lived with him. You dated his daughter. Now it’s time to use all that against him. Unless… there is some reason you don’t want to.”

Was he still trying to catch Robby in a lie?

“No - I don’t care about Miyagi-Do.” Robby replied without missing a beat. “But I don’t think it’s going to work. You know Miyagi-Do won the school fight, don’t you?”

Kreese frowned and nodded. 

“So why do you think he shut down the dojo?”

Kreese had clearly never thought about that. 

“Because… he is too much of a coward?” Kreese mused. “He tried to do the same thing when he was a kid - to quit while he was ahead. He knows payback is coming and he'd rather run and hide than face us like a man.”

“He did it because he didn’t want kids getting hurt.” Robby explained. “Mr. LaRusso thinks that win or lose, if he goes to war with Cobra Kai, kids will get hurt. So it’s better not to start the fight at all.”

“Kids will get hurt anyway - that’s what we need to show him.” Kreese replied. “He’ll come back when he sees that. He’s a soft-hearted bitch who thinks he is a hero. That’s what he really cares about.”

“You are wrong, Sensei.” Robby said, quietly. “He cares about his children more. He’d never put Sam at risk again.”

Kreese stroked his chin and mulled it over.

“Then maybe… we need to put her at risk.”

_ You’re despicable. You are talking about going after a seventeen year-old girl. What the hell is wrong with you? And why is Robby not saying anything? He couldn’t possibly be actually considering it. _

“We don’t want to make the same mistake as Hawk.” Robby said, softly. “Mr. LaRusso won't hesitate to call the cops on us if we go after Sam. We have to fight smart, remember?”

“Sounds like you are telling me not to fight at all.” Kreese replied, eyeing Robby suspiciously.   


_ You did good Robby. You did real good. And now it’s my turn.  _

“You are thinking about it all wrong.” Johnny cut in. “Trying to beat LaRusso in a fight is not the way to go. Even if we beat him, LaRusso can always find a better student and come back stronger the next time.”

Kreese glared at him, unhappy at being contradicted in front of a student, but Johnny wasn’t a scared seventeen year-old anymore. 

“Look - maybe we can convince a couple of old Miyagi-Do students to fight in the tournament - but that won’t mean anything unless they are fighting for Miyagi-Do.” Johnny shrugged. “Maybe it’d be different if LaRusso’s daughter was fighting - but that’s not gonna happen either. But none of that matters. You are getting caught up in all the wrong bullshit and ignoring what really matters.”

“Which is?” Kreese narrowed his eyes. 

“That Miyagi-Do’s top student is already fighting for Cobra-Kai.” Johnny finished, gesturing towards Robby.

Kreese frowned, taking it in. 

_ Guess I’ll have to spell it out for him.  _

“This is a war of ideas.” Johnny explained. “Which way is better - Cobra-Kai or Miyagi-Do? Robby couldn’t win as a Miyagi-Do. So if he can win as a Cobra-Kai… that means Cobra-Kai wins.”

“Makes sense.” Kreese mused, still uncertain.

Johnny had hoped that appealing to his ego would be enough, but he knew that the truth was that it didn't matter. Kreese didn't actually care about the abstract notion of proving Cobra-Kai's worth. He was a sore loser and he wanted to hurt the guy who'd beaten him in the past - it was that simple.   


“Mr. LaRusso would hate it.” Robby added. “Watching one of his students fighting - and winning for Cobra Kai. If there is anything in the world that will get him back in the game, that would be it.”

That sold it. Kreese was finally convinced. 

“But that only works if you win the Cobra way.” Kreese said, turning to Robby. “Not the wussy Miyagi way. You know what that means?”

Robby nodded uncertainly. Kreese saw his confusion and clapped him on the back. 

“It means no mercy, kid.” He smiled. “You gotta be ruthless in the fight. You gotta prove that you are leagues better than anyone else. That nobody else even stood a chance.”

_ Is he telling Robby to cheat? No - I can’t have that.  _

“I won the tournament my junior year without losing a single point.” Johnny cut in, redirecting the conversation.

“I remember.” Kreese nodded approvingly. “That was something to watch. That’s what you gotta do. But even better.”

“I understand, Sensei.” Robby said, determined. “I won’t let you down.”

“One last thing,” Kreese’s voice was low, almost casual. “Why do you keep calling him  **_Mr._ ** LaRusso?”

Johnny’s heart skipped a beat - but Robby’s expression didn’t even change. 

“He was my sensei and he taught me karate.” Robby replied easily. “No matter what else happened, he deserves respect for that.”

“He’s a good kid.” Kreese said with something like respect in his eyes after Robby left. “And smart too.”

_ You have no idea. I almost bought that bullshit myself. _

“Robby, I didn’t mean what I said in there.” Johnny told him later, in the car. 

“Ofcourse not.” Robby replied. “I didn’t either.”

Johnny sighed in relief at those words. He hadn’t thought so, but he still needed to hear it from him. 

“I know you are not a fan of LaRusso since he abandoned you -”

“He chose his family over his students.” Robby cut him off. “I can’t blame him for that. And he didn’t abandon me - he’s always there if I need any advice.”

That was news to Johnny. “You are still talking to LaRusso?”

“Yeah.” Robby admitted guiltily. “Sorry I didn’t tell you before. I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

He didn’t - _not_ like it, Johnny discovered. LaRusso had been good for Robby - better than Johnny had been for his own students. What kind of father would he be if he begrudged his son that?

“It’s fine.” Johnny said, smiling. “Really. But you can come to me for advice too, you know?”

Robby nodded, hesitating.

“I’m thinking of throwing the match.” He admitted. “Mr. LaRusso told me that that was stupid but... Kreese said he’d make us winners. So if Cobra Kai loses, he’d be done, right? No one would follow him if we lose?”

No - a lost tournament would not be the thing that finishes Kreese. Johnny’s loss at the tournament had not been what had made his students lose their faith in him - it’d been his reaction afterwards. If Robby lost, Kreese would simply try to make it all his fault. 

And the way he treated losers… Johnny shuddered. No, he would not let the same thing happen to Robby. 

“Is that what you want?” He asked. 

“No - I want to win.” Robby admitted quietly. “But if it’s for Cobra Kai...”

“It won’t be.” Johnny assured him. “Look, Kreese has survived losses before. This is not going to be the thing that ends him. If you want to win, then you should win.”

Robby nodded, looking relieved. 

“But you need to do it the Cobra-Kai way.” Johnny added, regretfully. 

“You want me to fight dirty?” Robby looked offended.

“No - just...” Johnny thought about what to say. “Look, I’ll talk to Kreese about rules and shit. Tell him that letting you get disqualified would be a stupid way to lose. But you’ll still have to… act… like a Cobra. Show your opponent no mercy. Because the moment Kreese thinks you are trying to pull something, he won’t hesitate to sabotage you.”

Robby nodded in agreement and Johnny smiled down at him. His son would be walking a fine line, but he’d proven himself more than capable of walking it. It was the other students that he had to focus on.


	9. Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold on to your hats...

“I won.” Robby argued. “And I didn’t fight dirty. I don’t know what you are so upset about.”

“It’s not about winning, Robby.” Johnny shook his head in disappointment. “It’s about how you fought.”

He knew he wasn’t being fair to the kid. After all, Robby had done nothing he hadn’t told him to. But even in his wildest dreams, Johnny hadn’t expected this. He’d trusted Robby to know where the line was and now it felt like Robby had betrayed that trust. 

Robby had won without losing a single point in the end. But he didn’t win that many points either. It was just a tournament, for god’s sake. Did he have to be so… ruthless?

He’d faced five opponents in total. And he’d shown no mercy to any of them - regardless of age, size or gender. 

He’d won his first match with a kick to his opponent’s head before any blows could be exchanged. 

With the second one, Robby had won a single point before dislocating his opponent’s shoulder with a heavy punch. 

The third one had caught an elbow to the back of the head (which was legal, apparently) rendering him unable to continue as well. 

The fourth one had chosen to forfeit rather than risk the same fate as others. 

The finalist had put up more of a fight - actually forcing Robby to win two points - before a kick to the torso had broken his rib. 

_ He didn’t need to do that.  _ Johnny thought.  _ He would’ve won with that kick anyway - he didn’t need to kick that hard.  _

But maybe that wasn’t what he was really pissed about. He hadn’t said anything to Robby during the tournament, after all. He’d been proud of him - proud of the fact that Robby had become this tough. 

“Do you know why I was so hard on you all this time?” Kreese had asked him during one of the breaks. 

“Because I sided with the enemy and needed to be punished.” Robby had replied evenly. 

“Sure, but that wasn’t all.” Kreese had said. “This is the real reason. The steel that’s hammered a thousand times is the strongest - and now, so are you. Go show them what you are made of.”

Kreese - he was the real reason behind Johnny’s anger. Everything they’d worked for, all the progress Johnny had made over months, it was all wiped clean in a day. Robby’s victory had ended up being Kreese’s victory. 

The students had regained their faith in him. The fear of being treated the same way Kreese had treated Robby had made them gravitate towards Johnny - but now that they saw how strong it made him and they wanted the same thing. 

Or thought they did. 

Johnny knew none of them would be able to handle what Robby had gone through - but the whole point was to make sure they didn’t have to.

And then there were the new ones. Calls had started rolling in the very next day - eager kids wanting to be badass, still innocent about the price they’d have to pay - and Kreese had just lapped it all up. 

“I was willing to throw the match.” Robby argued. “I asked you if I should. You said - ”

“Robby enough.” Johnny snapped. He was in no mood for any more excuses. “You know you screwed up. You know you destroyed everything we’d worked so hard for. Don’t try to pass the blame.”

“I just did what you told me...” Robby said sullenly. 

“Keene. Stay back after the class.” Kreese said, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible. “I have a job for you.”

Johnny suppressed a groan. Robby hadn’t said much to him over the past few days - and that had worked just fine since he didn’t have anything to say to him either. But now he’d have to put up the act of a proud father and he was anything but that at the moment. 

Whatever Robby felt about the whole situation, he’d gotten good at hiding it. Almost. He hadn’t been able to hide his flash of anger the first time around - the same face he’d shown Johnny before they started living together. 

* * *

The job Kreese had for Robby was putting up some new shelves in the office. 

“It’s for your trophy.” He said, pointing to the wall. “Right there, I think. I want it to really stand out. It should be the first thing anyone sees when they walk in here.”

“Thank you, Sensei.” Robby said evenly. 

“Why the long face, kid?” Kreese asked. “You won. And what a victory that was. I couldn't have asked for more.”

“I just...” Robby threw Johnny a nervous glance. “I don’t know where to go from here.”

“It’s all up from here, son.” Kreese said, beaming. “We’ll be putting a lot more shelves up from now on.”

“But this was my last tournament.” Robby argued. “I’ll be eighteen next year.”

“There is a big world out there, Keene. Lots of other tournaments to win.” Kreese told him. “And you’ll win them all for Cobra Kai. But for now...” Kreese handed him a Phillip’s head screwdriver. “Get to work.”

Robby did and Johnny considered the whole exchange nervously. This was how Kreese did it - those little nuggets of approval after months of abuse were like water to a parched throat. And before you knew it, it felt like you’d do anything for just a kind word from that miserable old bastard. 

If Johnny didn’t let go of his anger and make things right with Robby, he’d end up losing his son to Kreese. And he would NOT let that happen. He’d fix things. Today. As soon as they were out of there. He’d tell Robby that he was sorry for losing his cool and for blaming him. It had been his fault too, after all. He’d been the one to tell Robby to win the Cobra-Kai way. It didn't matter that they now had   


“We’re taking Cobra Kai to the next level - the three of us.” Kreese said, taking two beers out of the small fridge in the corner and offering Johnny one. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“Sure.” Johnny said, taking a sip. 

“I see a whole chain of dojos.” Kreese said, sliding his hand through the air to demonstrate his vision. “All through the Valley. Just to begin with. Every kid for miles around would be within walking distance of one.”

Johnny had had the same dream once upon a time. The fantasy of magically turning Cobra Kai uber-successful dojo franchise. But not with Kreese by his side. 

“Sounds amazing.” Johnny said, faking approval. 

“It’ll be tough going for a while.” He added. “We’ll need to start with just two - until we can find more Senseis who are more… aligned with our sensibilities. Hey - maybe we can get in touch with some of your old friends.”

“You are serious?” Johnny said, sitting up. 

“Ofcourse.” Kreese shrugged. 

He couldn’t let this happen. Get even more students for Kreese to corrupt, to ruin and then leave them alone in his care? He  _ would  _ not let this happen. But how to dissuade him without making him suspicious?

“They wouldn’t go for it.” Johnny said. “Bobby and the others… they kinda lost their touch. They didn’t keep up with their training and now it’s like they never even threw a punch in their lives.”

“That’s… disappointing.” Kreese certainly looked disappointed. “But it doesn’t matter. We’ll find people. It’s just a matter of time.”

Johnny wasn’t going to give up so easily. 

“I’m not sure we can afford it.” He argued. “The rent for this place alone...”

“We’ll figure it out.” Kreese assured him. “I’m getting a lot of calls about new students nowadays.”

As if that would be anywhere close to enough. 

“Why now?” Johnny had to know. “You’ve never talked about this before.”

Kreese looked at him almost wistfully. 

“I’ve always wanted to. I just couldn’t do it on my own. But with you by my side and our little champion over there - ” Kreese jerked his head behind, indicating to Robby. “With the three of us, Johnny, sky's the limit for Cobra Kai.” 

Johnny didn’t buy it for a second - this outpour of love and affection. Kreese was not a loving man. He only did that when he wanted something. And until Johnny could get to the bottom of it, he’d have to play along. 

“That sounds… amazing.” He said quietly. 

“I’m so glad you think that.” Kreese said, smiling. 

And then his tone changed. 

“I heard the bad news about your father, by the way. I’m sorry for your loss.”

_ Oh.... _

_ Crap,  _ Johnny thought,  _ crap, crap, crap. I walked right into it, didn’t I? How am I gonna refuse him after just having agreed to it.  _

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Robby stop fitting the screws into the shelves, having arrived at the same conclusion as him. 

“Step-father.” Johnny corrected casually. “And not really much of a loss. I always hated the guy.”

“He was a complicated man.” Kreese said, gently. “And you had a complicated relationship with him. I get that.”

_ Bullshit. _

“But even in death, he has left you an opportunity of a lifetime.” Kreese continued. “I heard he left you all his money - enough to make all your dreams come true.”

_ And there it is. So it’s  _ **_my_ ** _ dreams now? _

“Like I said, I hated that asshole.” Johnny said firmly. “And dead or alive, I’m not gonna take a dime from him ever again.”

Kreese shouldn’t be able to argue against that. Not after all that he’d preached about pride and self-respect.

“And if you were spending it all on yourself, I’d agree.” Kreese said, carefully. “But Johnny… I put aside my pride when I came to you and I did it for Cobra-Kai. You need to do the same. You owe your students that.”

_ You conniving son of a bitch.  _ Kreese didn’t expect him to buy all this bullshit, ofcourse. He just expected him to accept it. By now, even Robby had given up on any pretense of working and was listening in on their conversation. 

“I’m not even sure I’m getting that money.” Johnny bluffed shamelessly. “There are gonna be other relatives who’ll contest the will.”

“We can fight that.” Kreese dismissed the concern. “After everything that man put you through, you deserve that money.”

Johnny looked around wildly, trying to figure a way out, but Kreese was a step ahead of him. 

“Look, Johnny - there are going to be a thousand struggles ahead of us if we want to make our dream a reality.” He said kindly. “The only real question is - do you want it?”

“Ofcourse I want it.” What else could Johnny have said? “But not with  _ his  _ money.”

“Johnny...” Kreese shook his head sadly. 

“Can I think about it?” Johnny cut him off. “This is a pretty big ask. And I can’t make a decision just like that.”

“Ofcourse.” Kreese agreed immediately. “Sleep on it. I’m sure you’ll see it my way by tomorrow.”

Okay. This was good. He’d bought himself some time. Now he needed to find some way to turn Kreese down without jeopardizing his standing in the dojo. 

Focus. He needed to focus. There was no chance in hell he was ever going to let this happen. To not only let Kreese spread his poison further but to actually finance it? No way in hell. 

But he couldn’t fall out with him over this either. He’d be leaving a lot of students at Kreese’s mercy if he let that happen. That wasn’t an option. 

There had to be some way out of this. Some solution. Something that would fix everything. All Johnny needed to do was to figure it out and…

Robby casually walked up behind Kreese and buried the screwdriver in his neck. 

* * *

Johnny blinked. 

He had to take a moment to replay the events in his head to be sure of what had just occurred. He wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t hallucinating. This had actually just happened. 

Robby had just walked up behind Kreese and buried the screwdriver in his neck. 

Kreese didn’t understand it either. He clearly felt the pain. His hand flew to his neck, clutching at the hilt. He turned in his chair, still in shock, and stared at Robby. 

_ Robby, what did you do?  _ Johnny wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. Kreese was dumbly fumbling at the hilt, trying to remove the intrusion from his neck.

“Don’t...” Johnny somehow croaked out.

Too late. The metal spike was barely halfway out when blood started spurting from the opening like a hose. Kreese blindly reached out, trying to grab Robby and Robby jumped back out of his range, never taking his eyes off the man. Kreese stood up, his life pouring from his neck down his gi, took a few stumbling steps and fell down.

Johnny sprang into action.

“Call 9-1-1!” He yelled at Robby. 

Robby just stood there, pale as a ghost, watching the old man bleed out on the dojo floor. 

_ Shit. Shit. Shit. Robby, what did you do? _

Johnny knelt beside his Sensei, desperately trying to get his fingers around the metal rod to staunch the flow. He considered pushing the screwdriver back in to use as a stopper, but figured that the damage had already been done. So he pulled it out the rest of the way and put his hands on the wound, pressing down as hard as he could. 

It was no use. There was too much blood. 

“You’ll be fine, Kreese!” He whispered. “You’ll be fine!”

Kreese’s eyes were wide and wild and darting around, as if looking for an escape. His bloody hands were on Johnny's arm, gripping tight like Johnny was his lifeline. He looked scared. Johnny had NEVER seen him scared before. He was dying and he knew it. And if he died, then Robby…

“You’ll be FINE!” Johnny insisted, loudly.

Kreese coughed and a spray of spittle landed on Johnny’s face.  _ No, not spit...  _ Johnny realized. He made a gurgling sound and then he was choking. Drowning in his own blood.

_ What should I do? CPR? No - that’s for heart-attacks. What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? _

Johnny could think of nothing. So he kept pressing down on the wound until the gurgling died down and Kreese went still. His eyes were still wide open and his blood was still pooling under him, but Johnny knew that he was gone. 

“Robby, what did you do?” Johnny finally got that out as he turned to his son. 

Robby was finally dialing the phone. It was already too late for that, but he was dialing it.

“911. What’s your emergency?” A voice said from the other end.

“Please, you have to come quickly!” There was panic in Robby’s voice - but none on his face. “I think he’s gonna hurt someone.”

Johnny looked at his son in horror and then down at the body on the floor.

_ Robby, what are you going to do now? _


	10. Arrival

How did it all go so wrong? So horribly, horribly wrong? Where did  _ he  _ go wrong?

Was it the day Robby was born? Was it just one mistake after another - all building up to this horrifying conclusion? Or was it the day he was born? Was he doomed from the beginning?

Johnny sat at the prison table, mulling it over before they brought Robby in to see him. 

“I didn’t tell them anything.” Johnny said immediately, as soon as the guards were out of ear-shot.

“I didn’t think you would.” Robby replied, sitting down opposite to him.

Johnny nodded, trying to think of something else to say. But Robby beat him to it. 

“The lawyer told me that there was a plea-deal on the table.” Robby said, quietly. “Second-degree murder. Fifteen to life. Doesn’t sound that bad.”

“Not a chance in hell.” Johnny replied. 

Robby nodded solemnly. “You wanted to talk to me about something?” He asked. “I didn’t think you’d ever want to see me again.”

“I just - I want to understand why you did it?” 

“Why did I kill Kreese? Seriously?” Robby gave him a mocking look. “After everything he did to me - you really have to ask why I’d want him dead?”

“No.” Johnny shook his head. That part he understood. Kreese had put Robby through a worse hell than he ever had Johnny. He could understand Robby’s anger, his rage. But…

“I want to know why you framed me for it?” 

* * *

Johnny loved his son. Loved him more than life itself. He’d have taken a bullet for him. He’d have sacrificed himself a thousand times over for him. And he’d have taken the fall here to save Robby from having his life ruined. 

But Robby never gave him the chance. 

“It’s my dad!” He’d heard him say into the phone. “I’ve never seen him this angry!”

“I don’t know...” He’d heard him say later to the cops. “I know they were fighting about the dojo. This was my dad’s dojo first and Kreese stole it from him. But my dad would never...”

Maybe he should’ve said something then. Spoken up. Told them the truth. But he had been too numb, too much in shock to do anything. 

Not like they’d have believed him. They’d caught him literally red-handed and Robby didn’t have a speck of blood on him. And it wasn’t like they could’ve argued self defense. There had obviously been no struggle - no fight. And Robby had known all that already.

But the thing that had disturbed him the most had been Robby’s demeanor through it all. That panic, that fear, that desperation to believe his father’s innocence - that had all been fake. These weren’t the actions of a kid who’d screwed up and was desperately trying to cover for himself. His lies had been calculated. Considered. 

“Would you believe  me if I said I didn’t know what else to do?” Robby asked. 

“No.”

“Thought so.” Robby smiled. “Why don’t you just tell everybody the truth?”

“Dammit Robby, I don’t want to hurt you. I just...” Johnny shook his head. “I just want to understand.”

Robby looked like he was considering it, but didn’t know where to start. 

“You planned this, right?” Johnny prompted. “It wasn’t just spur of the moment?”

“I’m not sure you can call it that.” Robby admitted. “I did fantasize about it. About killing Kreese in a thousand different ways. My favorite one was taking that stupid cigar from his mouth, pushing it in his eye until it reached his brain.”

That  _ was  _ a good one. Johnny had often thought about it himself. 

“But then, this screwdriver was in my hand and his back was turned to me. So I just...” Robby shrugged. 

“You could’ve quit Cobra Kai.” Johnny said. “I told you that you could quit whenever you want.”

“That wouldn’t have saved all the other kids.”

“What?” Johnny stared at him uncomprehending. 

“We needed to get rid of Kreese. That’s what we agreed on, right? That’s what you wanted?” Robby explained. “Your plan wasn’t working - so I took the direct approach. And it worked. Kreese is gone. Your students are safe from him. That was the most important thing, right?”

“No - not like this.” Johnny shook his head, horrified. “Robby, I didn’t want you to do… this. To become this. Saving my students isn’t worth losing you.”

“Bullshit.” Robby scoffed. 

Johnny continued to stare at him. 

“You wanted to know why I’d frame you, right?” Robby asked. “It’s because I hate you.”

That had to be it. That was the only possible explanation. 

“So it was all an act?” Johnny asked, heartbroken. “Living with me? Trying to help me? Were you just looking for a chance to screw me over all along?”

Robby shook his head. “I was desperate to make you love me.” He sighed, examining his nails. “After Miguel, I didn’t think I deserved to be forgiven. I was so desperate to make it up for it that I’d have done anything.” He looked Johnny right in the eye. “And you used that. You used me.”

Johnny looked away, feeling guilty and ashamed. He’d thought Robby had needed it. Or maybe that was just what he’d told himself. 

“There was no plan, okay.” Robby told him. “No epiphany after which I started hating you. It was just one thing after another that kept adding up. I finally realized that I was never going to get what I needed from you. And that made me hate you.”

“You could’ve just asked.” Johnny pleaded. “If you’d just told me what you needed...”

“I needed you to put me ahead of your students.” Robby cut him off. “I didn’t realize it myself until it was too late, but that’s what I wanted you to do. And you couldn’t do that for me.”

“I would have.” Johnny insisted. “If you’d just given me the chance.”

“You had your chance.” Robby replied. “Mr. LaRusso shut down Miyagi-Do because it was puting Sam at risk. And you told  _ Miguel  _ to quit Cobra Kai because you didn’t want him getting hurt. But you wanted me there, putting myself through hell, because helping your students was more important.”

“I told you to quit.” Johnny said, numbly. 

“But you didn’t want me to.” Robby countered. “No matter how much I got hurt, you still wanted me there, pushing through the pain. You could've just told me that I'd done enough. That letting myself getting hurt wasn't worth saving your students. That I didn't have to do all that to get you to love me. But you didn't - because saving Cobra Kai was more important. Am I wrong about that?”

_ You are not. God help me, you are not. I should have pulled you out the very first time Kreese took a shot at you. But I thought... _

“I thought you needed it. I thought you could take it.”

"I could take it?" Robby looked at him questioningly. “I could take getting the shit beat out of me every day? I could take a pounding without fighting back? I could take getting my arm broken? Living every day, watching my back, not sure how I was gonna get hurt next? Let myself get humiliated without even the option of fighting back? Yeah, I could take all that - and you made me think I deserved to.”

“You didn’t...” Johnny choked. 

“You were my dad and you stood there and let it all happen to me. Even when I fought back, you still turned it on me and made it my fault.” Robby said. “What was I supposed to think?”

_ I did this. I put my son through hell and I turned him into a monster. _

“I fucked up, okay? I know I did.” Johnny said. “But Robby, you killed someone. Don’t you get how messed up that is?”

“I do.” Robby looked down. “But you know what’s really messed up - the moment that I did it, all that was going through my head was that I was finally helping you.”

“I’d never...”

“I know. And I know it was messed up.” Robby admitted. “But I did everything that you asked. Everything that you told me. And it was never good enough. All I could think of then was that if I could solve your Kreese problem once and for all, you’d finally start loving me for real. I get how fucked up that is - but that’s how I felt. It wasn't until I'd done it and you looked at me like that that I finally realized it was never going to happen. ”

Johnny nodded. 

“So this is my punishment then?”

“Guess, that’s up to you, dad.” Robby replied. 

Was it really up to him? They did kind of have him dead to rights. He had a believable motive and a credible history of violence. Sure, he could still fight it. Do the supposedly right thing and refuse to go down for a crime he didn’t commit. But it probably wouldn’t matter. He’d end up going down for it one way or the other. 

_ No, that’s not what Robby means.  _

He’d been too focused on fixing his mistakes, on trying to do the “right” thing and he’d put his son at risk for that. Worse - he’d let him get hurt, over and over again and done nothing when he should’ve been protecting him. Robby had every right to hate him - to want to punish him. And if he ever wanted to have a relationship with him again, he’d need to accept that. 

He wouldn’t be protecting Robby if he fought back. There was always a chance that investigation would end up revealing the truth. But if he took the deal…

“What will you do now?” Johnny asked. “With your life, I mean?”

“Live it, I guess.” Robby shrugged. “Mom’s getting out of rehab and we can find a new place. I’ll go back to school. Maybe start thinking about colleges.”

“What about karate?” Johnny asked. “About Cobra Kai?”

“Dad - Cobra Kai is done. One of the Senseis is dead and the other is on trial for killing him. It's not coming back from that.” Robby said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You should’ve never brought it back in the first place. And we are all better off without it. Not like I was never really a Cobra to begin with. Maybe I’ll ask Mr. LaRusso to train me again - but if he doesn’t want to...” Robby shrugged. 

“And what about money?” Johnny asked. “Does your mom have a job yet?”

“I guess that’s up to you too.” Robby shrugged again. “You can set something up with Sid’s lawyer if you want. But if you don’t… guess I’ll figure something out. I always do.”

Johnny nodded solemnly. 

“Fifteen years, huh? That’s the deal on the table?”

Robby nodded back. “Kinda fitting, right?”

Johnny looked at him, confused. 

“It took you fifteen years to start giving a shit about me.” Robby explained. “That’s how long I waited for you. Guess it’s your turn now.”

That  _ was  _ fitting. Kind of poetic, actually. 

“Take care of yourself, Robby.” Johnny said, as he got up to go back to his cell. “I’m not gonna be around to take the fall for you the next time.”

“There won’t be a next time.” Robby assured him.

Johnny nodded to the guard to let him through and take him back. 

_ Welcome to hell, Johnny Lawrence. We’ve been waiting for you.  _


End file.
